Birmingham Station
Birmingham Station is a sizeable ice processing facility run by Bretonia Mining and Manufacturing (BMM). Frozen Methane, CO2, and Hydrocarbons are mined from the nearby ice asteroid fields, processed, and stored until transported to their ultimate destination in Bretonia or Liberty. As a byproduct of processing Hydrocarbons into Polymers, Birmingham also produces substantial quantities of Oxygen, which are often sold to terraforming operations in the California system. Infocard *LOCATION: Manchester system *OWNER: BMM *CLASS: Wellington *GRAVITY: Partial *DOCKING: Yes *AMENITIES: Limited *POPULATION: 600 Ships For Sale None. Commodities For Sale *Hydrocarbons - $120 *Oxygen - $15 *Polymers - $180 *Terraforming Gases - $10 *Water - $45 Guns For Sale *Adv. Starbeam *Adv. Stunpulse *Heavy Starbeam *Starbeam *Stunpulse Turrets For Sale *Adv. Starbeam Turret *Starbeam Turret *Stunpulse Turret Missiles For Sale *Eraser Missile - Class 1 *Javelin Missile - Class 1 *Stalker Missile - Class 1 *Sweeper Missile - Class 3 *Slingshot Missile - Class 3 *Windstalker Missile - Class 3 Shields For Sale *Armet Fr. Shield *Armet L.F. Shield *Armet H.F. Shield *Adv. Armet Fr. Shield *Adv. Armet L.F. Shield *Adv. Armet H.F. Shield *Cuisse Fr. Shield *Cuisse L.F. Shield *Cuisse H.F. Shield Torpedo/Cruise Disruptors For Sale *Wasp Cruise Disruptor Mine Dispensers For Sale *Drone Mine *Razor Mine *Seeker Mine *Wardog Mine Base News BMM TRANSPORT SLAMS INTO ASTEROID: BIRMINGHAM -- Traffic along the Trade Lanes between Birmingham Station and the Cortez Jump Gate came to a halt Thursday when a very large ice asteroid drifted into the Lane. The BMM Freighter Clayton was destroyed when it collided with the itinerant chunk of ice while traveling at high speed. Police vessels from Kingston responded promptly, and the Lane was shut down until the asteroid could be cleared. The delay backed up ships on the vital Bretonia to Liberty commercial route for several hours. BMM later lodged an official complaint with the police for failure to maintain the safety of the passage. Base Rumors Border World Exports "Polymers and Hydrocarbons are shipped regularly to Los Angeles from this base. The trip through the Independent Worlds is a white-knuckle affair that leaves my nerves a little more shot each time." "Polymers are a valued Commodity in Liberty. Those produced here are shipped to the New York shipyards. The Liberty Navy is responsible for patrolling the independent Worlds, but I can tell you her fleet ain't big enough to get the job done." "The basic supplies produced at this base are shipped to every other base in this system. A Bowex pilot needs to be able to enter a Trade Lane in cruise speed. It's not easy, but necessary when pirates are near." Bounty Hunters Guild "Did you hear about the transport that got blown open just outside this base a short while ago? I found them fighting off a couple of Outcasts that they must have dragged in from the Trade Lanes. I got there too late. Just as I was about to engage the Outcasts, the transport's engines went critical. Too bad, I knew the pilot; he was a good guy." "Gaians used to be the easiest kill in the book, and they still are pretty much, but they're getting better at fighting and coordinating attacks. Some of them are rather good pilots now. I still kill them." "I am paid to kill Mollys near this base, but that my change. A group of BMM executives got mashed by a giant ice cube last week. They were here doing a routine inspections, and on their way back, their ship collided with an ice asteroid. The word is that the Gaians towed it into the Trade Lanes." "I was patrolling the Sheffield North a few weeks ago when I stumbled across three Lane Hackers. They were caught by surprise, too busy waiting on a Gold shipment that was coming by. I bagged one of them before they knew what hit 'em. The other two punched it for the Jump Hole to Magellan and escaped." "Peace is maintained in this system by the police and the Bounty Hunters. The Bretonian Armed Forces keep a battleship the Essex; in a nearby system, but it is up to us to regulate order here." "The Mollys hit the Trade Lane between here and the New London Jump Gate quite frequently. I specialize in killing Mollys. My brother was onboard the Newgate as an inmate when Mollys attacked it trying to free one of their own. He got killed in the raid, with only six months left to serve." Bretonia Mining and Manufacturing "Hydrocarbons and Polymers are the two Commodities that I ship to Stokes from this facility. I'll tell you, I do not enjoy going into Leeds. That place is a cesspool." "If you are a BMM grunt, then this is the place to be. Don't get me wrong. The workers here spend long hours on unsavory tasks, but at least here there isn't a short life expectancy." "I'm glad I'm not stationed in Leeds anymore. My family has suffered enough from the five years I worked there. It is the filthiest system in all of Bretonia, in all of Sirius. It is also incredibly dangerous. I still fly shipments there, so I get to see the danger first-hand." "It makes me nervous working and living in the same system as the most infamous prison in Bretonia. I know that it's supposed to be impossible to escape from Newgate, but the idea of all those murderers right here in this system just gives me the chills." "Mollys attack this base quite frequently. They hate all BMM employees and try to destroy every base or ship that has the name BMM painted into it. A shame Sir Edmund had to treat his workers so deplorably that they would revolt and become the Mollys." "The Bounty Hunters here are filthy chaps who curse and drink too much, but it makes us pilots feel a bit safer to know that they are nearby. More than once my ship's hull has been close to imploding from pirate attacks, when one of these boys swooped in to help." "The nearby ice asteroid field is source for most of this plant's raw materials. Sometimes huge chunks of ice from the fields drift into the Trade Lanes. If a ship moving at Lane speed plows through a sizeable enough piece of ice... well you can imagine what happens." "The Outcasts must be rich from the Cardamine trade. I don't understand why they would risk their lives attacking convoys of basic supplies and other low-priced Commodities. They either hate everyone, or they just enjoy fighting." "There are three Commodities consumed at this base that we do not produce ourselves: Mining Machinery, H-Fuel, and Food. We ship here from Thames." Planetform, Incorporated "Planetform has just increased bounties for Gaians in this system. Their attacks are becoming more accurate and frequent. I believe if they could just understand exactly what it is we are doing and why, they would cease their attacks against us." "Terraforming Gases make their way to California Minor aboard Planetform transports that leave regularly from this base. Crossing the Independent Worlds isn't a picnic, but terraforming is the future in Sirius, so I'm proud to do it." "The Terraforming Gases produced here are kept in open depots next to this base so that they stay cooled to space temperature. Unfortunately, these open gas depots are very tempting for Gaians." Category:Bases Category:Bretonia Systems